On 13 July 2017 students and teachers of PetrSU Linguistic Centre went to have a picnic near Chyortov stul (Chort’s chair) – one of the most famous natural sights of Petrozavodsk. Students shared their impressions with us, some in Russian, some in English:

Yesterday we went to Chyortov stul. We saw many interesting things. We played volleyball in the forest. I never played volleyball before. I liked it! Then we went to the shore of the lake. The lake is very beautiful, we took many pictures.

Lizhi Long (USA):
Yesterday we went to the suburb with our classmates and some teachers. The day was very good. The sun hung highly on the sky. The wind blew. Everyone was enjoyed. First we took the bus and about half hour later we arrived there. Then we walked to the nature park. Along the way we saw the high trees, the hill side of the lake. What beautiful scene! We got together to have picnic. After lunch, we played volleyball. All of us were very happy. Although we were tired, we still felt very happy. It is wonderful day!

On 13 July after lunch there was an excursion. International students with teachers went to the city district Solomennoye to Chyortov stul. We went there on bus No. 4, went to the grocery store to have something for a picnic. In the store we met an elderly woman who liked our level of Russian. After the store we kept going. Solomennoye district seemed very beautiful, it has a fantastic view of the lake and interesting wooden architecture of Karelia. After an hour and a half we reached Chyortov stul that has a wonderful view not only of the lake, but also of Petrozavodsk. We had something to eat, wished happy birthday to Robert Alfredovich [Russian language teacher] and played volleyball. Then we went to the shore of the lake and then to the bus stop.
We came back to university at half past six. We were tired and bitten by mosquitos, but with new experience.

Yesterday we went to an excursion to Chertov stul. We took off at 1 p.m. from the university. We came to Chertov stul. Then we went to the shop to buy some food. Then we went to the forest. There we celebrated Robert Alfredovich’s birthday. We ate a lot of delicious food. Then we played volleyball. Then we walked along the shore of the lake and came back to the bus stop and arrived to the city centre. I liked this journey. Good people and good weather :)

Susanne Andersson (Sweden):
It was fun! Maybe wouldn’t have seen that place otherwise. Was fun playing volleyball. Perfect weather for picnic. Inexpensive. Cool seeing classmates and teachers outside of school.

Ke Lou (China):
We played volleyball with each other in the meadow where we were surrounded by trees and flowers. There were people standing in the middle of a circle while others tried to pass the volleyball without being caught. Later I tried the traditional Russian fish, both dried and smoked fish. They tasted wonderfully.

Yesterday we went to Chyortov stul with our teachers. The weather was good. We walked in the forest and met many mosquitos. Fortunately, Ekaterina Aleksandrovna [Russian language teacher] had a mosquito spray. We had a picnic at Chyortov stul and there was a wonderful view of the lake. It was a great day.

Yesterday I went on an excursion with friends. We were at Chyortov stul, there we ate and talked. We played volleyball and then other games. The weather was good, as well as the nature. There I spoke a lot of Russian, but, of course, not always correctly.